A-B-Cs of liner tucks

Hey all of you with beaded liner pools!
The question of ‘reattaching the liner back into the track’ comes up on a regular basis so I figure it might be nice to have one place for the ‘tips and tricks’ of getting a ‘popped out’ liner back in track.
First and foremost (!) make sure that the track is clear of dirt/ debris (ants like to make their colonies in the track) – usually splashing some water into it will clear the dirt, but sometimes you have to clear it with a screwdriver.

A – Try to pull the liner up enough to put it back into the track, on a warm day with direct sun, it’ll usually go back in. * The bead has to slide in perpendicular and at a slight downward angle (ok, that defies the ”perpendicular”, but I hope you know what I mean) to the track.


B- Not enough stretch to the liner, or a cold and cloudy day? My first trick to adding some stretch to a liner is to rapidly rub the area with a cloth to generate a little friction and try to pull it up again. If that’s not enough, or the area is too big to make it practical, hot water from the tap
should be enough to give you the stretch you need – pour it on the entire area both on the poolside and behind the liner. I DO NOT recommend boiling water – it will soften the vinyl too much and you could end up poking a finger through it while pulling up!

C- It is possible to use a hairdryer or heat gun to warm the liner enough to stretch it back in, but *BE CAREFUL!!!!!* not to burn a hole in the liner or warm it too much!!!! Use your other hand to feel the temp of the liner and *DON’T!! put it directly on the liner or too close to it!! DO warm the entire liner from bead to waterline and ~3” past either end of the part that’s out of the track. (note - sometimes you have to lower the water a little (you don’t want to warp the tile pattern)


D-SUPER SECRET TECHNIQUE (I had to be cleared by the Pentagon to be able to give this info!) If you fold the bead over to be ~perpendicular (as above) to the wall just below the track, you can ‘nudge’ the liner back into the track. (Here’s where it gets hard to describe) With the bead folded so that the ‘nose’ of it is perpendicular to the wall, use the flat part of your index fingers (** detail – put your hands out in front of you, palms facing away – thumbs perpendicular to fingers [like you were going to brace yourself on a wall], curl your fingers [but only the fingers – don’t make a fist] so that the middle bone of your fingers creates that flat area) put your thumbs (thumbs are still extended) on the coping , turn your elbows out and reach down so that the ‘flat’ of your index fingers is just under the seam that connects the bead to the liner. Gently ‘kneed’ the bead up the wall – the bead will ‘inch’ it’s way up and into the track (angstrom is probably more accurate than inch). It doesn’t go quickly, but you’ll be able to see the 2 ends of the ‘pop’ going back into the track, and all of a sudden – the liner is back in. (I know that I didn’t explain this very well – if someone figures out what I’m trying to say and can put it more eloquently, please post it and I’ll edit, with credit) A lot of times I can use this ‘trick’ without resorting to heating the liner, but sometimes still have to relax the liner first.


I wanted to make this post ever since I read this http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=7114

There are a few things in that post on which I’d like to comment or expound upon:
1. HeatherC fears using a screwdriver (flathead or [-]) to force the bead into the track – I use the screwdriver, sometimes you have to tuck the bead’s lip into the track—her recommendation is to use a popcicle stick (it’s a good idea , less chance of damaging the bead using wood instead of steel), but sometimes you need something a little thinner than the tongue depresser.
2. Liner lock, the barbed bullnosed plastic strips, can be used where you have an area that keeps popping out to secure it. It can also be used when you have a large ‘pop’ to keep what you’ve put back in, in the bead while addressing the rest. Sumo and Cleancloths also had some good alternative things to use.

I’ve tried to make this complete (so I don’t have to go back and edit it), but if I missed something, or was unclear, please respond and I’ll ‘touch it up’.

HAPPY SWIMMING, EVERYONE!!

well..i'm honoured my stupidity with liners was an inspiration for your thread, waste:) jking:) having done the hairdryer trick and the hot water, i strongly recommend hot water if it's even necessary. too easy for a hair dryer to slip into the pool and hey, the hot water works like a charm:) my pool liner is very old so it was quite stiff before putting water on it. i also had to drop my water level about 4 inches..yep, that stuff. there was a comment i believe in the other thread about how a person could put liner locks in and take them out later. maybe for newer liners..not for mine. there just wasn't enough give and enough lip to hold the liner over the channel without it slipping back. i tried the penny trick, but my groove (not the channel, but the groove you would be facing was at least 2 pennies deep. the channel lock i've used both times (more successfully the 2nd as it was a bit thicker) is a wedge on the side that goes in. a few taps with a rubber mallet and it stays in nicely. really, it's done well for a 21 year old vinyl liner:)

How big of a slip will this work on?

I have a section that looks to me to be to much to stretch. It's about 5" that is pulled out, but it is pulled down about 1". As I recall, the liner is about 4 years old.

Do I have a chance?

Steve, I could have that back in in under 5 min! This assumes that the liner wasn't exposed to an 'acid bath' or 'nuked' with chlorine, and is under 15 yrs old.
For the larger 'slips', you need to work one side and then the other, though with a 4 yr old liner, you can probably just work it from 1 side.

Once my guys get the liner heated up and popped back into place with liner lock, they immediately pour a bunch of cold water on the liner to cool it back down and stop it from unnecessarily stretching any more.

Brad
Waterworks Pools

I had several places pop out on my beaded liner over the winter, Is it safe to take the top rail off while I am reinstalling the bead?

I assume that is the only way to get to it.
I have been taking two sections off at a time. but I am scared that it is going to collapse or something.
And when I put it back together I can't get the original screw holes to line up again. so I know it is moving a little.

I also am gonna use the penny idea I read on another post.

Waste....this a great post, I must have missed it the first time you posted it! Just to add, I use a butter knife--it's duller than the screwdriver and thinner than the tongue depressor, and works very well. I had about a 1 1/2 foot section out when I came back from vacation this past weekend, with about a 3 inch sag at the lowest point. It took DH and I about 20 minutes to put it back in, but it's back now and just fine.

Janet

I wouldn't think removing the top rail is a good idea because you need the pressure from the rail to keep what you've fixed in place. Don't know though--I just figured the less I take apart, the easier the fix is! :)

Janet

Maybe, I'm calling the wrong thing a rail. I don't know what I'm talking about 1/2 the time.

I'm referring to the wide pieces that are about 4 feet long that sit on top of the side wall. I can't get to the top of my liner without removing them.

Danl, you can remove the top rail to better expose the track - a lot of times you absolutely HAVE to to gain the access you need. If you are doing multiple 'liner tucks', replace as much as you can before proceeding to the next one - some of them may require having 2 off at a time, because it falls at an upright (I'm assuming that we are talking about an AG pool)

As a tip on reinstalling the top rail, don't fully tighten any of the screws down all the way until all 4 screws are started and the rail sits in it's proper position:cool:

Thank you Janet:D !

Thanks Waste
I was just afraid I was about to be buried in about 17,000 gallons of water when I removed the top rails.
I can't get to the track at all on mine without removing them. and naturally it is mostly on both sides of an upright.


I don't know why I had so many this spring when I removed the cover. Six places I think.

Does the penny really work?

Glad I was able to help:)

The penny (sometimes you need to use more than 1) trick does work - what you are trying to do is put a wedge in the track where the liner is trying to come out to keep downward pressure on the liner at the track so that the 'barb' on the bead will stay locked onto the track. As such, anything you can use to make that wedge will work, be it coins or pieces of credit card, etc.

Have a great summer and enjoy the pool - we'll be here if you have any other questions:cool:

Here's another technique using duct tape for extra leverage.

It's pretty simple actually. Create handles from the duct tape and tape them down to the liner. You need to use a lot of tape to get it secure them but it should ultimately give you the leverage you need to get the job done.

Welcome to the forum!

I must be doing it wrong when I've tried the duct tape trick - the d*mn tape always tears and I end up punching myself in the mouth:p

However, it's a good tool to add to the arsenal (as long as whoever is trying it is more coordinated than I) :)

Quote:

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the d*mn tape always tears and I end up punching myself in the mouth

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LOL. That's one of my favorite things to see. The guys do it in the shop at least once a month when they are moving liners around.

The trick is to double, triple, quadruple the tape up and make some good sturdy loops and tape the heck out of them. If the water level is lowered its easier to get a good amount of tape on the liner.

Maybe try it with sparing gear next time :)

...and thanks for the warm welcome.